Artificial tooth.



PATENTED SEPT. 6, 1904.

F. L. PRIEST. ARTIFICIAL TOOTH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

A 7TORNE VS I No. 769,631.

NITED STATES Patented September 6, 1904.

FRANK L. PRIEST, OF DALLAS, TFXAS.

ARTIFICIAL TOOTH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,631, dated September 6, 1904.

Application filed July 24, 1903. Serial No. 166.832. (No model.)

To (all wit/mt if 'm/uy concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. PRIEST, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Artificial Tooth, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a solid or practically solid surface upon the back face of teeth in order to hold said faces firmly to a gold bridge or to a plate at all points, especially at the tips of the teeth.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the upper plate and through a tooth secured to the plate by my improved means. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a tooth and the improved fastening device secured at the back of the tooth; and Figs. 3 and a are longitudinal sections through the back-plates for teeth and wire mesh carried by the plates, in Fig. 3 the mesh being shown extending decidedly beyond both sides of the plate, while in Fig. et the wire mesh extends decidedly well beyond the front or outer face of the plate only.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have illustrated the simplest form of attaching device, in which it will be observed the said device consists of a mesh A, preferably of wire, so woven as to provide a series of spiral members 10, and when the tooth is baked this wire mesh is made to cover the entire back of the tooth, a portion of the mesh being embedded in the porcelain and a portion of it extending beyond the inner face of the porcelain. The extent to which the mesh shall project beyond the inner face of the porcelain is governed by the use to which the tooth is to be applied. \Vhen the tooth is to be attached to a metal support-as, for example, bridgework the exposed portions of the wire mesh A receives the solder, thus making a perfect and uniform contact between the article to which the tooth is to be secured and the back face of the tooth from top to bottom of that portion of the back face which is to be applied to the support, as is shown in Fig. 1. The mesh or attaching device employed is made of platinum or other metal having practically the same expansion under heat as has porcelain. It is also sometimes desirable to embed a second layer of mesh or a second layer of the attaching medium to the tip portion of some teeth in order to have suflicient metal left for holding purposes when thetooth is ground down to proper length. \Vhen this mode of attaching teeth to a support is employed, the teeth are not liable to break or fracture at their centers, which frequently happens when the usual pins are employed as attaching means.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a mesh A as applied to a plate 11, extending beyond both sides of the said plate, and in the application of this form of the device the mesh at one side of the plate is embedded in a tooth when the tooth is formed, and the mesh at the opposite side of the plate extends beyond the inner face of the tooth to receive the rubber or the solder, as the case may be, while the plate 11 rests flat upon or may be more or less embedded in the inner face of the tooth.

In Fig. 4: l have illustrated the wire mesh A as also applied to a plate 12. Under this construction the wire mesh extends but a slight distance beyond the outer face of the plate sufficiently only to receive solder, as the plate is also capable of receiving solder, while the forward portion of the mesh, or that portion which extends beyond the opposite side of the plate 12, is embedded in the inner surface of the tooth.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. An artificial tooth having on its back a mesh A of woven wire provided with a series of spiral members embedded at one side in the body of the tooth and having portions projecting beyond the face of the tooth, whereby the mesh may be partially embedded by baking in the tooth and a portion thereof will project in the form of coils for connection with the body of the denture.

2-. An artificial tooth having woven wire embedded therein with portions thereof projecting from the back of the tooth.

3. An artificial tooth, comprising a body, a tooth, and an attaching device having spiral members connecting the body and tooth, a portion of the spiral members being embedded in the tooth and a portion in the body.

4. An artificial tooth, comprising a body, a tooth, and an attaching device having spiral members connecting the body and tooth, portions of the spiral members being embedded in the tooth and portions in the body, said spiral 5 members being extended longitudinally in direction of the joint between the tooth and body.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speclficatlon 1n the presence of two sub- 2 scribing witnesses.

FRANK L. PRIEST.

Witnesses:

J. R. JETER, R. S. HrNsLY. 

